[BUG] API Error: Rate limit reached incorrect in CLI

[lanorac]

Preflight Checklist

• I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet
• This is a single bug report (please file separate reports for different bugs)
• I am using the latest version of Claude Code

What's Wrong?

Claude Code fails to compact at that point, giving the same error, API rate limit reached. I was able to recover by quitting the session, then resuming it and compacting immediately.
I have a new Max account, plenty of usage left. I have gotten this error twice with about 3% context left both times.

What Should Happen?

I don't know, it should auto-compact and continue working?

Error Messages/Logs

Steps to Reproduce

1. Reach 3% context remaining until auto-compact
2. have some heavy work going on

Claude Model

Opus

Is this a regression?

I don't know

Last Working Version

No response

Claude Code Version

2.1.41 (Claude Code)

Platform

Other

Operating System

Windows

Terminal/Shell

PowerShell

Additional Information

[github-actions]

Found 3 possible duplicate issues:

1. [Bug] Auto-Compact not triggering despite low context with 24% usage #16644
2. [Bug] Auto-compact fails with "Conversation too long" error in CLI, loses context despite successful compaction command #25107
3. [Bug] Manual compaction fails with "Conversation too long" error when auto-compact enabled #25348

This issue will be automatically closed as a duplicate in 3 days.

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🤖 Generated with Claude Code

[pavelbe]

Thanks for tracking this. I can confirm a related reproducible Max plan case and opened a dedicated report: #26812. In my case (Claude Code 2.1.47, Windows 11 + WSL Ubuntu), CLI returns 'API Error: Rate limit reached' continuously for 5-6 hours while Usage shows Weekly All models at 91% (about 9% remaining) and Current session at 0%. Claude feedback reference: 836a1742-0f17-4018-bdfa-3924ac5e0156. Evidence screenshots are included in #26812.

[JF10R]

Same issue here, at just 30-ish % of my weekly limit and far from the session limit, on Sonnet 4.6 with the default 200k context window.
Claude Code 2.1.47
This happened after I pasted in a JSON file that made the context window reach past its limit and now I lost the whole session.

[noeminihoul]

Same here. Extra-usage has been used but current session 0%...

[RNWTenor]

same issue

[ardaydilek]

Same issue here. Switching the model fixed it, but it doesn’t seem logical that this happens.

[Makosha]

Same

[dmazan]

Same issue here. API Error: Rate limit reached with a single Claude Code instance working on a not that difficult coding task. Looking at the console, nothing even close to recent peaks. Exit, resume, compact and away it goes.

Seems really specific to some particular sequence, not a duplicate of some more general issue. There is no way the task being worked on, my one person in one instance with one prompt should hit any API rate limit.

[andre-fu]

Also encountering this - I tried switching the model from Opus to Sonnet but still got this error?